


Weird

by summoninglupine



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who: Virgin New Adventures - Various Authors, Iris Wildthyme - Fandom, Obverse Books
Genre: Cats, Cats in the TARDIS, Gen, Shoreditch High Street, Tesco Metro, The New Adventures of Iris Wildthyme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24001657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summoninglupine/pseuds/summoninglupine
Summary: In Tesco Metro, Clara Oswald is on the lookout for a very strange cat.
Kudos: 1





	Weird

“Oh, hello,” she said, moving right, then moving left, trying to look after the older woman’s shoulder. 

She smiled warmly, perhaps a little impatiently, but warmly, and she raised her eyebrows, nodding in the direction behind the woman, and said, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen a cat come through her, have you?”

Clara Oswald, just shy of 30, a well-travelled and well-adjusted individual—in her own estimation—had not known there had been a cat aboard the TARDIS until the moment she saw it slinking out of the door and disappearing out into the school in a blur of silvery fur and gentle footfalls. What followed had been a mad dash through school corridors in pursuit of the little beast, a chase that had eventually carried her out onto Shoreditch High Street, catching sight of the animal as it darted into a Tesco Metro and seemingly vanished behind the woman now blocking her path in the confectionary aisle, a shopping basket in one hand, and a confused expression upon her face.

“A cat?” the woman asked, long sandy blonde hair, in her early 50s, Clara guessed.

She nodded.

“Yeah, you know, four legs, quite fast, very demanding, that sort of thing.”

“Yeah, I know what a cat is,” the older woman remarked sharply, “I just don’t think that I’ve—”

She stopped abruptly, feeling the brush of something past her leg, and looked down in alarm to see a shadowy cat, its eyes silvery and oddly mercurial.

Her face paled, and her expression became serious, as she seemed to remember something, her recollection dredging up events that she had not thought of for a good many years.

“Oh, I used to know a cat like this,” she murmured, crouching down and reaching out for the animal, apparently now indifferent to the younger woman’s presence.

Great, Clara thought, just my luck, in one day I manage to lose a cat that I never knew existed, and when I find it again, it’s in the company of the bloody cat whisperer.

“Hi, hello,” she said aloud, smiling thinly, the kind of smile she got towards the end of term, when all her good will had been exhausted. “So, about the cat, I really need to get it back, you see.”

The older woman did not look up, but simply extended her hand as the cat eagerly reached back for her, pushing its head into the palm of her hand.

“Yeah, her owner, well, he gets pretty fussy about these things, you see.”

“She’s lovely,” the older woman smiled softly, feeling the brush of the cat against her, listening to its gentle purrs, and then again said, “I used to know a cat like this.”

“Yeah,” Clara answered sharply, “you said. So, listen, the cat—”

The older woman looked up and smiled.

“She’s a spaceship, isn’t she?”

Quickly, Clara’s expression became a frown.

“A _spaceship_?” she repeated nervously. “W-What makes you say that?”

The woman smiled, abandoned her basket, and lifted the cat up in her arms, holding it close to her chest. She grinned mischievously.

“I used to know a cat like this,” she said a third time.

Gently, she passed the cat to Clara, who took hold of her with trepidation, unsettled by this sudden turn of events.

“Make sure she gets back home safe,” the older woman said with a smile, reaching down and picking up her basket again.

“I will,” Clara nodded, trying to work out exactly what had taken place.

The other woman made to turn away, then paused and seemingly thought the better of it.

“Oh,” she said with a smile, “and if, on your travels, you happen to bump into a grumpy old woman with a soft toy panda, tell her that Sammy says hello.”

Without a further word, she turned and disappeared in the direction of the frozen section, leaving Clara Oswald confused, bewildered, and with an armful of cat.


End file.
